Quail Lakes & Coal: Energy for Wildlife ... and the World

© 2013 Doug Oberhelman. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 1/23/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-0999-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-0997-2 (hc) I

SBN: 978-1-4817-0998-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013901141

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CONTENTS

Foreword One        Greg Boyce

Foreword Two       Dale Hall

Foreword Three   German Larrea

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 Settling The Land Of Black Gold

Chapter 2 Illinois Mining Comes Of Age

Chapter 3 Mining At Quail Lakes

Chapter 4 We Can Reclaim It

Chapter 5 The Wildlife Responds

Chapter 6 From Wasteland To Wonderland

Chapter 7 The Coal Solution

End Notes & Bibliography

To my wife, my best friend in the whole world,

and my co-author Diane, I thank you.

FOREWORD ONE

In Quail Lakes & Coal—Energy for Wildlife ... And the World, Doug Oberhelman powerfully chronicles the history of a remarkable place and the rise of one of the most successful—and little-known—U.S. public-private partnerships to benefit the environment and economy. Quail Lakes is a 1,200-acre example of the transformation of a landscape from wilderness to surface-mined land and back to the wild.

importantly, the deep clear lakes, prime farmland, and wildlife habitat at Quail Lakes are not unique. They can be found on former mined lands in every corner of the country. The U.S. coal-mining industry has embraced sustainable land use and pioneered the science of land restoration. Every day my company sends scientists and experts around the world to restore mined properties to meet the needs of communities and nations.

Too often debates about energy policies drift toward unsustainable mandates or punitive measures—at the expense of proven, affordable solutions. Oberhelman describes another model—an approach to empowering people and businesses to conserve through innovation and investment. He has long supported protecting wildlife in natural habitats, while taking into account the need for a strong economy driven by low-cost energy.

The story of Quail Lakes is proof that we can develop a vital and reliable domestic energy resource and achieve the parallel goal of environmental progress for ourselves and for future generations.

—GREG BOYCE

Chairman and CEO, Peabody Energy

FOREWORD TWO

My personal opinions have been formed by experiences that stem from two seemingly opposing catalysts: growing up in the coal-mine country of Harlan County, Kentucky, and an entire career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ducks Unlimited trying to conserve natural resources for future generations.

What I have learned is that in order to have people become conservation-minded, they must be able to make an adequate living and secure affordable energy to care for their families. Conservation becomes a luxury if your family is hungry. Coal is one of those sources of economy and energy, and the long-term solution rests in new technologies and new commitments to care for and restore the land to as near natural condition as possible once the energy has been extracted.

As Doug and Diane Oberhelman’s story attests, new techniques allow habitat restoration once thought impossible to be the new reality. What the Oberhelmans have done on their Quail Lakes property in Illinois should be a case study in positive actions taken by responsible coal operators and landowners, and their story should be shared across this great nation wherever coal is being mined or plans are under way to extract this abundant source of jobs and energy. It proves success can occur when businesses and landowners are willing to work together for common good.

—H. DALE HALL

CEO, Ducks Unlimited Inc, and

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Retired)

FOREWORD THREE

At Grupo Mexico, we understand that sustainability is a challenge for us all. Generating value in our surroundings is the unquestionable vocation of our company. Every member of this big family contributes to this mission and we are also committed to managing our work responsibly.

Our U.S. affiliate ASARCO, with its team of experts in responsible management, has also contributed to the sustainability of mining with successful reclamation efforts at Midland Coal Company properties in Illinois.

We congratulate Doug Oberhelman, who has purchased some 1,200 acres of these reclaimed parcels from ASARCO over the past several years to restore and develop into a wildlife habitat treasure named Quail Lakes. The journey this land has taken surely affords a glimpse into civilization’s productive and sustainable use of land-past, present, and future.

—GERMAN LARREA

Chairman and CEO, Grupo Mexico

PREFACE

Birds and wildlife have always fascinated me. Since I was a kid growing up in northern Illinois I’ve enjoyed watching wild animals and reading books about nature and conservation. One favorite is the Smithsonian Birds of North America by Fred Alsop. I turn to that reference often and appreciate the words within. But I never had aspirations to write a book. Actually, I’m not a very good writer. Even so, for the past few years I’ve had an idea for a book—not so much to write but to tell what I think is quite a story.

Like many landowners, my wife Diane and I are passionate about our property. In particular, we have a deep attachment to the 1,200-acre central Illinois farm we call Quail Lakes. Our attachment is so deep that we don’t really take typical vacations like most families. When we do have free time, we almost always spend it at Quail Lakes. We don’t have another vacation home. And I’ve all but abandoned my golf game. Quail Lakes is our place to relax and recharge.

It was during our visits to the property that the idea for this book grew. At first we set out to trace the path of Native Americans and settlers who walked the land before us, to learn more about mining and restoration on the property, and to tell about the abundant wild animals and birds we have encountered. We also believe that few pieces of property have had so many productive uses as this one.

Two things stood in the way of me writing this book. Since July 1, 2010, I’ve had my hands full serving as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Caterpillar Inc., the company I’ve worked for since graduating from Millikin University in 1975. Then too there is the issue of actually writing. As I mentioned, composing paragraphs is not my greatest strength.

That’s why I approached Jeff Lampe to help. I first met Jeff while he was working as outdoor columnist for the Peoria Journal Star. Diane and I enjoyed his writing and we kept in touch over the years, as we share similar passions for hunting, land conservation, and wildlife. We also share similar geography. Jeff and his family live in the wonderfultown of Elmwood, just a few miles north of Quail Lakes. They moved there in part to be closer to surface mines—properties that offer some of the best hunting and fishing in Illinois. Hunting is a priority for Jeff and for me. In fact, the first time we met about this book was in a duck blind at The Rice Pond Preserve on the Illinois River. We’ve also had meetings during dove and goose hunts at Quail Lakes.

The book evolved over the course of those meetings. Telling the tale of Quail Lakes is still the focus, but in the process of writing this history, we came to see the book as more than a mere timeline of occupancy and land use of a 1,200-acre Illinois farm. For me, Quail Lakes is a timely example of the many benefits we can reap from the land when we work responsibly. I don’t think there are many places on earth that have had so many and varied land uses. Yet if somebody drove out to visit they would never know Quail Lakes was once a surface mine with pits dug 75 feet into the earth.

That to me is the essence of this story.

I have no great expectations for this book from a sales standpoint, but to the extent Quail Lakes & Coal does sell, any proceeds we generate will go to Ducks Unlimited—an organization I admire and support. At the same time, I hope the book and the story of Quail Lakes might inspire others to pursue conservation on their land. And I’d like to think this story might be a small part of ongoing debates about coal mining and energy use in the United States.

There are also plenty of people to thank. Diane is atop my list because she is as passionate about hunting, fishing, and conservation as I am, and because she has been actively involved in our work at Quail Lakes. We enjoy many special moments at our farm with family and friends and with Diane’s four children and their spouses: Allen, Alison, Kathleen (and husband Tyson Brill), and Maureen (and husband Chris Bennett). Allen deserves credit for coining the catchy name Quail Lakes for our property. I’ve also enjoyed good times with my nieces Candice Smith (and her husband Derek) and Dana Gustafson, and with Candice’s children, Colin and Caden.

Many others deserve credit, as well.

Our neighbor Bill Atwood of Elmwood is a good friend who has done yeoman’s work at Quail Lakes. He helps run the Caterpillar equipment we own and is always willing to help improve the property. It has alsobeen fun watching Bill turn into a birdwatcher. When I first met him I’m not sure he knew a robin from a cardinal. Today he’ll call me with news about which field the snow geese are using or any other wildlife he has seen.

I’d like to thank the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which helped design our terraces, dry dams, and wetlands. Credit for design work of those terraces also goes to the Peoria Soil and Water Conservation District and to Jerry Wyatt. Pheasants Forever helped with prairie plantings, as did brothers Ron and Ted Gilles, who visited Quail Lakes to provide insight into prairie restoration and helped open my eyes to what was possible. Nate Herman had great ideas for the fish we stocked and he and his crew have built angler-friendly docks. Sam Dilsaver has done a fine job managing Elmwood Farms LLC dairy, another neighbor with whom we work closely.

As far as the text for the book, many deserve a pat on the back. Mike Kepple offered insight from a lifetime in surface-mining country. So did John O’Reilly and Eric Schenck. Dickson Mounds archaeologist Alan Harn was a rock-solid source for Illinois history. Special thanks goes to Jim Grimm, Phil Christy, and Ken Miars for stories of the Elm Mine, to Richard Coon for his fond memories of a Marion monster shovel, and to Harold Jehle for input on the banking industry. Norm Emerick and Ken Russell drew on years of in-the-mine experience to discuss fish, fowl, and other animals. Bruce Howard of Elmwood provided wonderful pictures and historic accounts, as did Doug Whitney and the Elmwood Historical Society.

Jeff asked me to thank his wife, Monica, and their three sons—Henry, Victor, and Walter—for putting up with him while he immersed himself in this story at the expense of fishing trips into the surface mines. But Jeff’s three boys and generations after them will enjoy the benefits of similar restoration efforts here and around the world. Jeff also credits his parents, Dave and Ruth Lampe, with instilling his love for language as well as nitpicking over this manuscript. And he thanks brother-in-law Tony Vandercar for his graphic art skills.

Thanks goes to my hunting and fishing buddies at Quail Lakes and The Rice Pond: to Allen Cullinan, Dick and Mike Laukitis, Jerry Foley, Rex Linder, Chris Curfman, Don Welch, and so many others.

Having thanked all of those people, I am sure there are some that Ihave forgotten to recognize. For that I am truly sorry. I also want to make it clear that I am responsible for any omissions or mistakes in this book. This is a personal endeavor by Diane and me. Neither Caterpillar nor Ducks Unlimited is responsible for the content of this book. And I regret if any information contained within these pages is incorrect or is not properly attributed. We have done our best to present an interesting, factual history of what I consider to be a fascinating piece of property.

—DOUG OBERHELMAN

January, 2013

INTRODUCTION

Grass graced the Illinois landscape long before the stripping shovel, dragline or bucket-wheel excavator started scooping ... thousands of years before Cat D8 bulldozers began moving black dirt to uncover black coal. These were not the imported, cool-season grass species we are accustomed to seeing around homes or on baseball fields, but rather tall, native prairie grasses. Now big bluestem and other prairie plants have returned to the 1,200-acre Quail Lakes property my wife Diane and I own in central Illinois—a flowing reminder of the healing power of time ... and of mankind. It makes me smile to think that a wild land settled by a fascinating man named Avery Dalton is going wild again even after being intensively mined for coal.

Our property is part of an evolving history of land use. All inhabitants of earth leave an imprint relative to the technology available to them. That’s as true of Native Americans 5,000 years ago who used stone hoes to dig burial mounds as it is of mining companies today who uncover coal with Bucyrus draglines and loaders made by Caterpillar.

Yes, the scale is different today. So is the population. Needs are greater because there are so many more people with so many more demands. That has become clear to me during my career with Caterpillar. I’m biased, but proud to say the company makes the world’s finest earth-moving and mining equipment, as well as many other products that help make for a better world. Caterpillar’s products make land use easier for an ever-growing world population. The balance we seek is to mitigate disturbance and to make land use sustainable. This story offers one example of what is possible.

Since the generally accepted birth of surface mining in the 1860s in Vermilion County, Illinois, strip mining has had a checkered history. While the United States has always—and will always—need affordable sources of energy, many early attempts at surface mining for coal left the land scarred. Gob piles of shale, clay, and rocky soil stand as a testament to these first mines, as do gashes in the ground lined by rocky, saw-tooth hills. Like Hell with the fires put out, is how one observerdescribed an abandoned surface mine where water ran red and spoil banks were devoid of vegetation or wildlife.